The Glee Project Recap: Too Arty for the Party?

This week’s installment of The Glee Project found ship’s captain Ryan Murphy asking a question that endlessly plagues judges and fans of reality competition: “Do you cut someone because their attitude sucks?”

And given that we’re only on Episode 2 — where, unless you’re being asked to curl up on a bed of hungry leeches on Fear Factor, one’s attitude should reside somewhere at the corner of Chipper and Grateful — part of me was rooting for Mr. Murphy to answer that quesiton with a resounding “Heck, yeah.”

Luckily for Lily, who’s clearly grown up inside a cocoon of “that was perfection!”/”you’re so talented!”/”Lea Michele isn’t fit to carry your sheet music!” ridiculousness, this week’s elimination criteria seemed to zag in a different direction, which means she’ll live to interrupt the mentors and screech in the recording booth another day.

Things kicked off with the news of the competition’s latest theme: Dance-ability. “That’s not my strong suit,” worried Dani, who really is impossibly pretty. Tyler mumbled some words that essentially amounted to a terrified gulp. And Aylin reminded us she’s a “spunky badass Turkish Muslim,” because out of the corner of her eye, she spotted that dead horse twitching.

The group homework assignment — divvie up “We Got the Beat” 13 ways, whip up some kicky choreography to go along with it — brought out the worst in Mario, who didn’t want Ali to get the “round and round and round” line because it “would be cliché” coming from a chick in a wheelchair. Right? How dare she! Taryn, meanwhile, kept mentioning how “irritating” it was to work with a group of strong-willed folks with disparate opinions — in other words, to have a job of any kind — and promptly dropped out of the competition. Thankfully, the show’s producers didn’t dwell on her exit, since that dude in the commercials for The Next Big Thing: NY had more screen time than Taryn the last two weeks.

And then there were 12 kids left to perform for guest mentor/Season 1 winner Samuel Larsen. It’s hard to judge the contestants when their solo moments are so brief, but these were my scribbled observations during the Go-Gos number. Tyler really can’t sing. Floppy-haired dude (Blake) made interesting use of his falsetto. Would love to hear more of Nellie’s singing voice. Dani’s too. Ali hit an insane note at the end, but I’m not sure I actually enjoyed it.

Judge Robert Ulrich declared it the Best! Homework! Assignment! Ever!, and I can’t say I disagreed, but the choice of Abraham as the winner left me flummoxed. Where Samuel saw “extra, extra intensity,” I saw painfully overbaked facial expressions.

Finally, it was time for the main challenge: A video for LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” set at a high school house party. Dance rehearsal did not go well for Tyler or Dani, while Lily’s whole “I’m the only one with vocal and theatrical training” blathering backfired during a comically awful recording session. The wince on vocal coach Nikki Anders’ face was worth a thousand “no me gustas.”

Speaking of wincing, choreographer Zach Woodlee spent the entire shoot looking aghast that the contestants seemed to be experiencing collective amnesia with regard to the simple dance steps he’d taught them. “At this point, standing would be better,” he said, while Lily continued to bust out a bizarre breast-bouncing move that he’d previously warned against. While Dani, Abraham, Nellie, and Tyler continued to struggle on set, Aylin reveled in an on-camera game of spin the bottle that ended with a lengthy kiss with Blake — “one of the hottest things that’s ever happened to me!” she cooed — and then went backstage to plant one on flirting partner Charlie, because I think deep down she understands that embodying a fleshed-out character (Muslim chick who breaks the rules) and courting backstage drama (possible love triangle?) can’t be bad for her long-term prospects on the show.

And while Robert dubbed the finished footage as the worst music video in Glee Project history, it needs to be said that Blake and Michael definitely stood out with some jaunty dance steps, while Shanna continued to be a magnetic on-camera presence, even when she was pushed to the corner of my TV screen. Oh, and I still want to hear more of Nellie’s singing. She might be really, really good.

Not surprisingly, the Bottom 3 turned out to be Tyler, Dani, and Lily — but not before Abraham wept at the mentors’ criticism and trotted out the old “I didn’t do well because I was too focused on being perfect” excuse. (Lord, how I hate that excuse.) Lily, amazingly, repeatedly interrupted Zach when he tried to explain why she’d be singing for her life, and finally huffed that she thought her solo dance moves were just peachy, since she “never got a note saying otherwise.” Instead of pressing a button to a trap door that would swallow Lily whole and plop her in the dumpster behind Glee Project HQ, though, the mentors took their seats for last-chance performances:

* Dani’s rendition of “Landslide” was a tiny bit tremulous but quite evocative, even though I wished she’s worked the stage and tried to amp up her performance a little. Girlfriend may admittedly be a coffee house performer, but last I checked, Glee hasn’t been planning a Joni Mitchell tribute episode for Season 4.

* Tyler’s vocal on “Daniel” was significantly less unpleasant than last week’s “ABC,” and yet still not entirely pleasant.

* Lily’s “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” was decently sung, but she probably saved herself by sassing around the stage and flirting with the boys in the band. Still, I have to say I gasped during her post-performance chat with Ryan when she admitted that her contentious attitude with Zach was a pattern she could trace back to her relationship with her high school chorus teacher. “That’s a little unnerving,” noted Glee‘s head honcho, which is another way of saying “this fool can’t possibly be serious!”

In the end, though, Mr. Murphy settled on ousting Dani because ultimately, she’s “not the show.” And while indeed, the Justin Bieber doppelganger has genuine vocal talent and seems comfortable in her own skin, I’m not sure she’d be comfortable in the skin of a fictional character. In other words, I’d be happy to check out her set at a coffee house, but I’m not sure she’s an actual actress, which should be a major requirement for getting cast on a popular prime time TV show.

What did you think of this week’s Glee Project? Was Dani the right pick for elimination? And how gracious was her exit speech? If not Dani, who should’ve gotten the boot? Sound off in the comments, and for all my reality TV news, interviews, and recaps, follow me on Twitter @MichaelSlezakTV!

I’m not saying Dani would have made it to the end, but I highly doubt that Tyler or Lily will either. I think either of them should have gone before Dani. Dani embodies the show, but she needs to learn how to be the show. At least give the girl a chance before booting her.

Ryan is interested in Tyler’s story; but Tyler needs to step it up to stay in this competition. Two weeks in the bottom 3 isnt good. I see Lily be the next one to be sent home. Her attitude is terrible.

My thoughts exactly. How long do you keep someone with marginal talent because you like their “story”? If Kevin McHale can play a guy in a wheelchair, then I’m certain they could find a talented actor to portray a transgendered person. I love Dani. Loved her since I saw her on AGT.

I would never admit i had attitude problems with people in the past. What was she thinking!! Although they barely show michael, i could see him as a dark horse. He seems to be good at everything: acting, singing and dancing. Aylin needs to stop talking about being a turkish muslim, it was only interesting the first time and not even that much. Nellie seems to have a really good voice, i hope they let her sing more. Abraham tries wayyyyy to hard o lord. I think ali is just there because she is in a wheelchair, she wont win. Her voice is kinda unpleasant and she looks too old for high school. I know this is going to sound mean and i have nothing against mario, he is talented, but i glee wanted a blind character on the show, they would hire an actor to play a blind character like they did with kevin mcale, it would be so much easier for everyone. Like ali he is only there for the diversity therefore he wont win. Blake and shanna are both strong at everything so i hope they stick around longer too. Poor tyler the only thing he has going for him is being transgender. He cant sing act or dance. Lily is just a hot mess. Her and tyler should go next.

Again, Ryan Murphy proves what a douche he is by allowing that no talent Tyler to stay in the competition because of his/her “inspirational” story. Ummm…it’s not that inspirational when you think about how many times he complains about feeling weird inside his new body. An inspirational person would be the person who is confident and loving their body. That is not Tyler. He should have gone home after two weeks of poor performances and not feeling comfortable in his new body and using that as an excuse.

Dani should not have been sent home. But I did wish she would have defended herself. I could totally see her on Glee as a tough girl who was somehow forced to be on Glee and not really fitting in with all those perky people but somehow gradually, over time, learning it’s okay to put down your wall and have some fun in life. That should have been her character. It’s sad to think that Ryan Murphy must be such a terrible writer that he can’t come up with storylines and characters on his own that he has to resort to allowing no talent contestants to stay in the competition simply because he likes their backstory.

Dani is what Dani is, a very, very talented singer. I agree (shudder) with Ryan that she is not what the show currently is, pop and show tunes. Like Max, a very, very good CW singer wasn’t what the show currently is. Which means that Ryan, regardless of his sappy cooing over wanting divergent talents early on, really wants to keep the show pop and show tunes.
He apparently has no clue how to actually write for divergent talents. He likes Tyler’s ‘story’ though the barely talented kid is supposed to be auditioning to be an ‘actor’, not be himself.
Lily’s ego issues may be exaggerated. Remember the show is very heavily edited. This happened last year as well, and also happens on every ‘reality’ show on the tube. I’m sure several of the kids have egos, tantrums and tears, and with clever editing whom among us could not be made out to be a rotten, narcissistic ogre on any given day. I suppose we need a villain/drama, and right now Lily fits the bill.

Yeah, it’s tragic because the same thing happened to Lindsay Pearce last year and it’s shocking how much of a sweetheart she turned out to be outside of TGP. Unfortunately Lily’s talent is similar so way to pick on the talented one. :(

I totally agree. So many of these kids have huge egos. Lily just had the easiest sound bites to exaggerate, and her unwillingness to accept criticism doesn’t help her case. But then again, she’s had to defend herself her whole life to make sure no one writes her off. I think she’ll come around. And lezzz be honest… she definitely performed better than Dani or Tyler. She’s a much better fit for the show

Nahh i just think she is a bitch. What she said there was no editing. She fought zach and admitted to being a bitch in the past. No chance for her. She isnt even that special. I dont see her on the show. The only thing she has is a good voice which isnt that special either. I do remember her saying in the auditions that she was the best singer…

I was in a play with her twice…she is not the nicest person in the world. She is very overconfident and not particularly intelligent. Her and her friends were mean to me because I would do homework during downtime. However, she is an extremely good singer with A LOT of training. Unfortunatly, her talent is not unbelievable enough to mask her egotistical disposition.

Ryan keeps the ones who catch his interest and Robert Ulrich has pointed out that casting is completely subjective. “Red Solo Cup” isn’t exactly pop, either. Not to mention, Ryan and the rest of the writers/producers have a habit of incorporating things from the actors’ personal lives into the show, which can make a person’s back story more than a little relevant. At that particular moment in time, Dani didn’t appeal to them, so they sent her home. If the issues with the others continue, they’ll be sure to go home, too. Considering what a phenomenon the show has become, I think Ryan Murphy and the other judges know what they’re doing.

Lily is definitely getting the annoying girl edit on this show.
I am very tired of Tyler’s excuses — I’m transforming and my body is changing blah blah blah. I want a person who is more than just that, and yet that’s the card he is always playing (and his voice is not strong at all).

I’m wondering if they used the same footage of him talking about his transformation/new body. I think he should have gone home last week, and again this week. He’s just not got enough “something else” to overcome his lack of talent as compared to the rest.

Dani has the most beautiful folk voice and would have made an amazing original character for Glee. She had the only unique voice on the show. After watching the third season of Glee, I already know Ryan Murphy has lost any creativity he may have ever been able to legitimately claim. Its a terrible shame when writers stop caring.

I feel like Murphy saying that Dani isn’t the show was a bit ironic seeing that Glee is the most diverse television series out there right now. He also said that she didn’t fit the show’s “Broadway/Pop” sound and maybe that’s what kind of makes the show dry at times. They should stop molding these characters to fit that genre and let the artists be artist sometimes. I LOVE Glee, but I think that the beauty of season one was that certain things were left unsaid like in actual high school and now that every character’s struggles are being directly address as they were in season three is what killed some of that magic. Glee WAS about being apart of something bigger than yourself despite the fact that the world views you differently but there needs to be a filter on the amount of drama fans witness in an episode. Can we get back to the music?

I definitely like the type of music that is in Dani’s wheelhouse, but she herself labeled her as a “coffeehouse” performer. That’s a little bit of a departure from a kid that join a glee club. If she’s going to be portraying a kid in a glee club, she’s got to be able to tackle music that may not be in her comfort zone….and perform it. She seemed to be struggling with that.

No. Tyler WILL ALWAYS BE THE RIGHT PERSON TO ELIMINATE until he is gone. He is awful in every way. Honestly, can we just admit this is a SINGING show. By that I mean, you must be able to sing or hold a tune or not make me want to launch myself out of a window every time you open your mouth. S-I-N-G-I-N-G. Okay? He is also using “my body is changing” excuse a bit too much. Yes, I am sure if your body wasn’t changing – you’d be oozing with talent. NOT! Okay – that rant is over.

Is Lilly the dumbest person on the planet – or what?! Who admits that they have behavioral problems?! I will attribute this extreme stupidity to youth – but really?! At least she’s interesting – so I guess that’s more than I can say for Dani (even though I loved her laidback swagger…)

I only saw a few episodes of season one and just happened to click by last night’s episode during a commercial break/halftime in the basketball game. I could tell immediately that Dani was a goner. Her song performance was well done, but not appropriate as somebody auditioning for Glee. That is the type of song they use sparingly for emotional scenes and she needed to ramp up the excitement. I didn’t think Tyler’s rendition of “Daniel” was so great either and he could’ve been cut except that Ryan made it clear he likes the backstory provided by Tyler. As for Lily, her performance was done in the Glee mold with attitude and spunk (and her voice was strong). Her attitude may get her kicked off sooner rather than later, but it was clear to me that she was staying based on the performance which meant no surprises when Dani was on the cut list.

Oh, can we talk about Taryn? I felt so bad for her leaving the show! I don’t think she would have won though, so I guess it’s a good thing she left, especially since she couldn’t handle the pressure. At least she’s smart enough to realize it before the experience became too traumatic.

It sucks that Dani went home before Tyler, but I’m sure his days are numbered. As far as Taryn it was odd that the only footage they had of her talking to her mother was a bedroom cam video that they had to digitally zoom in just so she would be the center of the screen. I just wished that her spot would have gone to someone else that could be a standout like Lindsay from season 1

my thoughts on danceability:
The video:
it makes much more sense why they hacked the dance shots to bits now, because the footage was unusable. The video was kinda bizzare. Mario sounds like jay-z
The Bottom 3:
Oh tyler, i understand that dancing is not your strong suit and that your voice is changing but most of the videos require some choreography and they all require singing so thats not a roadblock thats gonna disappear now that danceability week is over honey. I just dont think hes cut out for this. His elton song was good but i dont think it was enough to justify keeping him in the running.
Lily is not as great as she thinks she is. her video performance was pretty unimpressive imo. she was trying way to hard and that vocal booth was just…no. I do like her presence and voice but ryan? you cut like 5 people for attitude last season. so yes, you can cut someone for attitude problems.
Dani is adorable and gorgeous. i liked her last chance performance and love her voice and personality but yeah i think ryan didnt want a cameron repeat. im not fully convinced that she is a cameron 2.0 but i can see where someone would think that and try to nip it in the bud this time. but his reasoning that, shes not like whats on the show already? isnt that the point of this? to find something unique and not on the show already? whatever.

nobody else really made a big impression on me this episode. the whole mario/ali thing was so inconsequential. and so was the whole charlie/aylin/blake thing. Blake continues to impress though along with Shanna. Micheal just doesnt stick out to me. i think hes good and he definitely hasnt done anything wrong but.. idk im having trouble getting into him even though i want to.

You know, I know it is really late to be commenting about this, but ever since I read your comment, I always laughed my ass off over the fact that you said Mario sounded like Jay-Z, but yesterday I re-watched their Party Rock Anthem video, and yeah you are so right, Mario does sound like Jay-Z, I mean there is little-to-no difference, and you know what? It still makes me laugh hysterically because you could replace Mario’s voice with Jay-Z’s and it would not impact the song in any way.

I love Glee, but each season the cast and plot is getting weaker, in my opinion. Loved Glee Project last year, but not so much yet this year. Seems that the contestants were based on potential story lines and diversity, not so much on talent. Tyler can’t sing his way out of a paper bag. Loved that Glee was a show intended to show how all kids can find a place to fit in – but now it seems that it is more about filling the show with someone from each “disadvantaged” or “marginalized” group, and not a more realistic representation of high school, which believe it or not, does have some kids that just don’t fit in, but are not fat, physically challenged, LGBT, etc. I love Glee, particularly seasons 1 and 2, for the amazing talent. Now I’m skimming and channel surfing, rather than getting together the whole family for Glee night. Also a shame that Taryn didn’t figure out that she wanted to stay home and didn’t want to be part of this experience earlier, when someone with the real desire and drive could have participated instead. Sad.

Yay! Im so happy you are reviewing this became Totally obsessed after season one. It was a huge disappointment to have them all collectively tank the dancing. :-/ that said, I totally agree with you about Shana(?) And nellie. Shana catches my eye the same way Lindsey did in season one, I just wanna watch her. And Nellie’s voice makes me listen closer. Kinda love her already cant wait to win a hw assignment to showcase. I also really like aylin. Thought her last chance performance last week was amazing. Big personality w/ the talent to back it up. This week bottom line it should been lily that went home. Her stank attitude this early on is just unexceptable and I total turnoff. Harsh maybe but the only plus I can see to keep her one is that every show needs a contestant for people to hate on. :p

@ GleekMom I agree with you on the fact that there are kids in high school who don’t fit simply because they don’t. Which is why I want Charlie to win. ADHD is something unique that will cause people to bully you and (in Glee it) will offer a fresh perspective on what it truly means to struggle with the disorder, imo. But his whole “I have a crush on Aliyn” thing was lame. It was like Hannah and Damo last season. I have no problem with you liking someone but seriously? I just want the competition to be weeded out and the real fun to begin. That is awful but it’s true.

Not impressed with this season so far at all. Frankly, if Ryan Murphy cannot come up with plots for his show without pulling from his cast’s lives or without a back(sob)story, then he’s not much of a writer, IMO.
Tyler is awful as a singer/dancer/actor, and that’s what this show is looking for. Is he brave and an inspiration? Definitely! But not appropriate for what this show boils down to, which is a talent contest. Lily is an obnoxious waste and while there is a ton of editing done in “reality” tv, her remarks were clearly said as is. Dani is beautiful and charming, a wonderful singer, but she clearly was uncomfortable expressing big “Glee” emotion. I do wish they had given her a chance to spread her wings, though, and dumped one of the other two.
I don;t see any standouts at this point. I’ll give it another week or two at the most, but if the talent doesn’t get any better, I’ll just be looking for recaps here.

maybe it’s just me, but so far, there’s almost no one that i like on this season. i mean, i understand that it’s only the second episode, but between bad attitudes, cockiness, less talented people only being there because of their ‘story’, i’m just disappointed. and i notice that the two people who have gone home (maxfield and dani) are some of the only people i liked! and while i saw taryn quitting about a mile away, that really ticked me off. don’t get me wrong, i would probably never last on a show like this either, but that’s why i wouldn’t try. so many people tried out for this show, and so many probably wanted it to badly, and you’re just going to throw that away? kind of how i felt about cameron last season, but at least he gave it a chance. idk, i just feel like a lot of the contestants this season aren’t as grateful as last season. they don’t seem as willing to work for it.

I like Lily quite a bit, attitude or no. (I’ve only just gotten into the series, though.)

That said, I think Tyler will continue to pass, even if he is in the bottom three repeatedly, because Murphy will be wanting to write his story into the show. Which is fine, his show, his prerogative, but if he continues to win out over more talented people, it’ll be obnoxious.

Damien as Rory is a perfect example of what happens when Ryan picks without caring about singing/acting/dancing ability. Damien won without the talent to back it up and all three of his fellow finalists outshined him during their much shorter runs on the show. I really, really hope something like that doesn’t happen again this season. I’m still fuming from only getting to see Lindsey twice. I’m rooting fro Nellie. She has this really cool unique voice and consistently lights up my screen. I like Ali but her vocal grates on me and I like Mario but his personality is a bit brash. Charlie is my favorite guy – he’s not just a pretty boy and I like his personality. Speaking of, though, how come there are no guys who are like Lily – representing a body type that may not be “conventionally attractive” but is nonetheless beautiful? Believe it or not, guys have body issues too, and Naya Rivera calling Cory Monteith fat does not cut it, because – and this may be shocking to some of you – Cory is not fat. The only time they ever touched that issue was the Rocky episode and it is just famous for being a bad episode. Besides, that just consisted of Sam saying “I’m hot but I’m uncomfortable with wearing tight shorts” and Finn saying “I’m not as hot as Sam.” Neither of those characters reasonably deal with body image issues in their daily lives even though they pushed that “tall ogre” thing with Cory for a long time. Where’s the guy who can rep for larger guys and who can stand out based on his talent and still be attractive? I want to see that guy on this show.

I’m gay and I think Ryan is just one of those gays who don’t like women. He is always harder on girls and loves his gays and transgendered people. what bothered me is that they placed dani in the chair for the shoot and gave her those lines to sing which she did awesome on. as for the dancing everyone was messing up so I don’t see why she was singled out and then they gave her an ultra mellow song to sing. Maybe she could have done a bit more with it but really how upbeat can one make landslide. Tyler is awful and can’t sing or dance and chances are can’t act he is only there because Ryan likes his story……um an actor should be able to act and make their characters back story seem believable. Alex was different last year in that he wanted to perform in drag and actually has the talent. Tyler just happens to be transgendered and thinks he can sing. As for taryn leaving its awful that she took someone’s spot and left this early. I was hoping that no one would go home or they would bring someone that didn’t make the top 14 none of whom seem as good as last years group. And to reply to someones comment about no bigger guys on the show it’s true but it’s not just glee you hardly see any bigger guys in younger roles. Overall this seasons cast seems more like the island of misfit toys picked for their disabilities or stories than talent.